2016: A Year In Review for Three Struggling Literacy Organziations & Velocity of Books

posted by Carolyn Thompson | 27sc
January 02, 2017

2016 has been bittersweet for local literacy organizations. It was the last book sale for Smith College, which held their annual sale in Timonium, MD for fifty-eigh years. The proceeds from this sale went to finance scholarships for Baltimore area women to attend Smith College.

It is also marks the closing of Books for America, which donated over 1,000,000 to the community for more than fourteen years.

Now, Books for International Goodwill in Annapolis, MD, which promoted literacy through the distribution of books locally, nationally and internationally for seventeen years, is closing their doors at it's current site. We hope that they will find another location to re-open their doors. They've been looking for a new / affordable location for a year.

These organizations brought millions of books to the community for little or no cost. There are people who would not have a single book in their home if it weren't for these organizations.

What can the community do to support organizations like these in the future?

Call and offer your assistance.

Host book sales and other fund raising events and donate a portion of the proceeds back to organizations which can provide you an abundance of free books.

Provide them with a direct donation or endowment.

Many hands make for light work.

Literacy is the tool to access all other education. Without literacy, it is nearly impossible to obtain an education. Individuals who are impoverished have limited access to books and some may not have a single book in their home. Organizations designed to get books into the homes of those in need are essential for breaking the chain of poverty and empowering people to take advantage of opportunities available to those who read.

At Velocity of Books, we have been reluctant to ask the community for financial support. We work hard to keep our expenses extremely low. This includes arranging office and storage space at no cost. Having free books delivered from our for profit literacy partners, opposed to paying to pick up the books whenever possible. There are still overhead costs, insurance, website, event materials and fuel are just a few expenses which can't be avoided. Make your donation to promote literacy today. We don't want to be a bittersweet story of the services we provided, but can't afford to continue promoting literacy.

In 2016 Velocity of Books:

Established a relationship with Discover Books, that now provides an endless supply of free books, which we distribute to the community. Discover Books is a for-profit online book seller, whose business model encompasses giving back to the community. This is inline with the core values of Velocity of Books.

We opened a book bank at Glenallan Elementary School in Silver Spring, MD, where we donated more than 6,000 books.

More than 17,500 books were distributed at events in both Rockville and Baltimore, Maryland.

Founders toured northeast USA and Canada promoting literacy and learning what other regions are doing to promote literacy so that they can share these ideas with other organizations which promote literacy.

Tens of thousands of books were given to elementary schools to fill their school libraries, classroom libraries, and for kids to take home and keep.

Thousands of books were donated, so that they could be shipped to Nigeria and Sierra Leon.

Velocity of Books received a Governor's Citation for our successful promotion of literacy.

Please help us continue to be of service to others. Whether you can make a monetary donation or not, your help is still needed. Whether you have a single hour to give; an hour a month or an hour a week. We will gladly accept your help.